You know that joke about what countries would be in charge of things if this were Heaven or if it were Hell? You know the one…where in Heaven, the British are the police, and in Hell, it’s the Germans? Well, I got to thinking about how that would apply to technology. And I came up with this: [Read more…] about The nature of Heaven. And Hell.
Technology
TV is dead. Long live TV!
I am a child of Television. No kidding…my first word? Not “mama” or “dada,” but “Popeye.” I was a disciple of Larry, Moe and Curly, and George Reeves taught me to believe a man could fly. I don’t think you could find a kid that was more plugged-in, tuned-in, and aware of television than I am. Which is why it somewhat pains me to report that TV, my lifelong companion, is dying, and near death. It was a good run. We had some great times. But I come not to praise TV, but to bury it – drive a stake through it’s 49 share heart. And to give you hope for the future. [Read more…] about TV is dead. Long live TV!
A Case for the iPad 2.
No, I’m not talking about making a case for owning and iPad 2. Just go pick one up and play with it for a second. These things don’t need a sales pitch. Nope. I’m talking about making a case that will hold one.
I came by my iPad 2 by way of a customer, who sent it to me in order for me to design games and such for him. (I love my job!)
The Apple iPad 2 (as of this writing) still has the “new” on it. The only ‘case’ that’s been released is the Apple-designed cover (which is a pretty cool thing in and of itself). This magnetic (!) cover takes care of protecting the screen while not in use, doubles as a stand, and triples as a screen cleaner. (No word on how to clean the cover, once it’s saturated with finger oils, and at $39 for the ‘cheap’ one, it’s hardly a disposable item.) [Read more…] about A Case for the iPad 2.
Friends, Roamings, Countrymen…lend me your ear(bud)s.
I’m still finding out cool stuff about my new iPhone. This morning, I discovered that the alarms are REALLY LOUD. I mean REALLY loud. Especially when compared with my former phone, the Wagon Queen Family Truckster (a.k.a. Windoze Mobile Sprint/HTC Mogul).
Even better, no more special adapter just to use headphones. Of course, the earbuds that come with the iPhone work…but they aren’t noise-cancelling, nor do they fit in my ears well enough to really generate the best sound, say, when I’m in a car. With the top down. And doors off. Nope. I need to score myself some noise-cancelling earbuds with built-in mic, preferably ones that block wind noise on the mic side. [Read more…] about Friends, Roamings, Countrymen…lend me your ear(bud)s.
4…3…2…1…We have (iPhone) liftoff…
Believe it or not (and I’m not sure I do, yet) I’m now the proud owner of a brand-new 32GB iPhone 3G s.
Pause with me for a nanosecond, whilst I let that sink in.
In one fell swoop, I can retire my Wagon Queen Family Truckster® (a.k.a.: “Windows Mobile/Sprint HTC Mogul”) crapalicious excuse for a cell phone. Being a card-carrying propellerhead, I’m still in the process of exploring what all my new phone can do (i.e.: jacking with all the configuration options, configuring ringtones, et cetera). It may be a couple of days before I’m ready to stop jacking with it, and allowing it to become the business tool I need. But I’ll enjoy working on it in the meantime. [Read more…] about 4…3…2…1…We have (iPhone) liftoff…
Hacked!
I hate hackers.
If I were king of the world, morons that get their jollies by stealing passwords, infecting sites with malware, defacing sites, and any other kind of mischief, would get the death penalty. No appeals. No delays. We’d string ’em up, preferably in public, with mandatory coverage by the networks. (Obviously, the networks are acquainted with mandatory programming – they cover every Obama presser, so they shouldn’t have a problem with a sensational, money-maker like a public execution.)
About a week ago, a client notified me that there was a problem with one of the sites I host for them. I assumed – at first – that the malicious JavaScript code that had been added to their index page without permission was an isolated incident.
Not so fast. [Read more…] about Hacked!
iPhone 3GS: the missing features.
I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of the iPhone 3GS for some time now, and I’ve been keeping up with the fanboy and rumor sites, trying to gleen any crumb of info to help make the wait bearable. After yesterday’s announcement, I’m still eagerly awaiting the ship date (and plan to buy one that day), but I can’t help but wonder what happened to some of the rumored features, specifically: [Read more…] about iPhone 3GS: the missing features.
Social Networking Gone Bad.
I’m a fan of social networking sites. I’m not big on Facebook and Twitter and MySpace – but I have a presence there, largely because they’ve each reached critical mass. They are useful for keeping track of old friends. That’s all well and good, but I’m far more interested in business-oriented sites. Keeping in touch with business contacts and former co-workers is a networker’s dream. It’s something that’s really useful, especially when you’re looking for a job, or seeking a way into a company to grab and account. [Read more…] about Social Networking Gone Bad.
Who gets Jeep?
Let’s be honest. Chrysler is RIP. Today’s announcement that Chrysler has 30 days to make a deal with Fiat does nothing but forestall the inevitable. To get the Fiat deal done, creditors must allow Chrysler to default on loans. Why would they do that, if they simply force Chrysler into bankruptcy? After all, 10 cents on the dollar is better than nothing. So let’s assume that Chrysler is heading for that big Chapter 11 (or 7) in the sky. Now what?
I think it’s pretty safe to say that we won’t see anybody buy Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep lock, stock and pistons. Nope, the parts will be worth (marginally) more than the sum of the companies. Chrysler itself is worthless – the only two vehicles they have that are in anything close to what resembles demand are the Town & Country minivan and the 300 sedan. Neither is currently considered best-0f-breed. Chrysler can sink into the sunset with few tears from the great unwashed. [Read more…] about Who gets Jeep?
Project Momentum.
There are two things I hate regarding the realities of business. I hate having to stop work on a project before it’s complete. But I hate having to return to a “cold” project after being away from it for a period of time that’s long enough to make me forget everything about it.
I’ve been working on a video game project lately. It’s not rocket science, but like all projects that require coding, you get into a thousand different decisions and judgment calls that force you to have to go back and remember what you did, why you did it, and rethink your choices.
In a way, it’s more difficult to come back to a project and work on it again (even if you comment your code religiously). It’s kind of like how they say it’s more difficult to relocate down the street than it is to move across the country. Familiarity breeds contempt. Something like that.
I crack open the source code, and I have to spend an hour or so, reviewing what I did – and why I did it. And of course, if I’m adding something, odds are, I’m going to have to either hope I was prescient enough to write code that can be easily adaptable, or code that was designed for expansion.
In a way, it’s kind of an out-of-body (out-of-mind?) experience, akin to the concept used by SciFi writers, where the protagonist is thrown into an alternate universe, where things are almost the same as the way they are back home. But not quite.
No big point here, fans of reason. No solutions offered. No revelations revealed. Just observations. And a wish that it wasn’t so bloody hard for me to go back and edit old code. Sigh…